This week we pay tribute to those teachers, philosophers and educational reformers who really made a difference to the way we learn. From Ancient Greece to contemporary London, there have always been those striving to improve education for their students. Below, we cover the contributions of seven key figures.
Socrates
Born in Ancient Greece in 470BC, Socrates taught both Plato and Xenephon using his ‘Socratic method’, a finely tuned process by which he would investigate concepts to their most logical conclusion. An example of this might be his challenging of the statement that ‘Courage is endurance of the soul’. Socrates would argue that whilst courage is a virtue, ignorant endurance is not, which implies that courage is not endurance of the soul and hence disproves the original claim.
Despite his interest in education, Socrates paid little attention to his own sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and Menexenus, preferring to focus more generally on the schooling of Athens’ young boys. He would wander around the city, asking friends and strangers questions and hoping to discover ethical and political truths along the way. This method has influenced teaching and class discussion in all areas, from law to philosophy to literature.
Friedrich Froebel
German educator Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) believed that young children had innate potential and that all they needed for this to be realised was the right setting. He advocated for kindergartens, where creativity and socialising were prioritised, as well as the importance of learning by doing. His ideas influenced later educational reformers Horace Mann and Maria Montessori, as well as many contemporary pre-school programmes.
Viewed by many as one of the most influential reformers of the 19th century, he developed his ideas as a young teacher at a progressive school in Frankfurt. Overall, he argued that improving children’s education was vital to their comprehensive development and also to social reform. His ideas, however, became politicised in 1851, when the Prussian government, suspicious of the socialist views of Froebel’s nephew, banned the kindergarten movement. Frobel, who died in 1852, did not live long enough to see this ban lifted in 1860, and witness the subsequent impact of his ideas.
Charlotte Mason
British reformer Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) was at the forefront of the home education movement. As the founder of the Parents’ Education Union, she championed practices which best-suited home education, emphasising liberal arts and ‘living textbooks’. ‘Living textbooks’ differed from traditional ‘dry’ textbooks in the sense that they were authored by one person with a passion for and broad knowledge of the subject matter. With these books, quality mattered far more than quantity, with particular stress placed on having them written in literary and engaging language.
Mason also supported the idea of short lessons of around twenty minutes, to ensure that younger children could maintain their concentration. As the age of students increased, so did their lesson time. As a child, she had been mostly home-schooled, a fact which influenced her work. Her ideas were widely admired, and improved the quality of education in twentieth century England.
Jean Piaget
As well as acting as Director of the International Bureau of Education, Piaget (1896-1980) put forward key theories about cognitive development. His main idea was that childhood is central to personal development, with a person’s early years fundamentally contributing to an understanding of the world around them. When these ideas are challenged, children adjust their ideas accordingly, leading to personal and intellectual growth. He was a true believer in the power of education, and is quoted as saying ‘Only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent or gradual’.
John Dewey
Dewey (1859-1952) produced numerous books espousing his ideas, including The School and Society (1900) and Democracy and Education (1916). The main tenets of his argument were that school plays a social role as well as an educational one, and can therefore act as a catalyst for social reform. He also believed that students should be empowered by their education and should interact with their curriculum instead of blindly following it.
Explaining that ‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself’, Dewey encouraged students to transmit knowledge to teachers in addition to the more traditional teacher to student route. He also promoted problem based learning, wherein students learn about a subject by solving open-ended problems.
Maria Montessori
You’ll recognise the Montessori name – it can be found on schools all across the world. These schools follow the ideas of Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an Italian education reformer. Most famous for her ideas about giving children autonomy, she was also the first woman in Italy to train to be a doctor.
In 1906, she was invited to oversee Casa dei Bambini, meaning Children’s House, in Rome, a school for children of low-income families. At this school, the students partook in activities such as dressing and undressing, cleaning and gardening. Montessori realised that children often showed the most interest in practical activities such as these, and completing them promoted concentration and sensitivity to the surrounding environment and led to the development of self-discipline. Her work garnered much international attention, and her methods adopted in numerous countries, including Italy, Switzerland, Korea, Mexico, Syria, South Africa, the USA and the UK.
Mary Wollstonecraft
A feminist icon, Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which argued that women only appear inferior to men because they have not had the benefit of an education. Her belief was that one should ‘strengthen the female mind by enlarging it, and there will be an end to blind obedience.’ In her view, educated women would be able to act as good wives and mothers and contribute positively to society. A staunch supporter of self-discipline and honesty, she published several further books on her beliefs, such as The Female Woman and Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. Clearly her ideas took hold; her daughter was Mary Shelley, the forthright author of Frankenstein.
Peter Hyman and School 21
The most modern educational reformer on our list, Peter Hyman is the head teacher of School 21 in Stratford, London. Recognising that a changing world requires an updated school system, Hyman is seeking to ‘harness the extraordinary resources of London – cultural, financial, academic, creative – to ensure students get a rich, varied and stimulating curriculum.’
As a former advisor to Tony Blair, Hyman went on to develop an interest in what makes a great school. School 21 was the result – a teacher-led school focused on equipping children with skills essential for the 21st century, such as public speaking and creativity. It welcomes students aged 4-18, and hopes to foster a family spirit. To ensure no one slips through the cracks, each student is part of a small coaching group of around 12 pupils and receives mentoring and support for several hours a week.